Security Resource

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. — Protection 1 will begin selling solar panels to customers in September through its new Bright Energy unit, Bloomberg reports.

Protection 1 will offer systems for as little as no money upfront to lease customers in a bid to tap increasing demand from households seeking to cut power bills, according to Bloomberg. The company’s solar unit, first reported in SSI, joins existing providers like SolarCity, the largest home solar company, and Vivint, whose Vivint Solar unit is the second-largest home solar installer.

“We certainly like the financial model and it’s a nice extension from our home automation” business, Whall said. “The timing is good for the solar business.”

Even with the sector’s rapid growth, few homes in the U.S. have solar power systems. “We love the fact that there is very little penetration,” Whall said.

A third-party financing model that funds about two-thirds of U.S. residential systems helped the U.S. solar industry grow 60% last year, Bloomberg reports. Protection 1 will also sell systems to commercial customers. Whall expects the company to install at a rate of about 5 megawatts or 1,000 systems a month in the first quarter.